Tower of Heaven

Atlas wasn't originally a cautious man, but that changed after his reincarnation.

He was in a completely unknown environment with no power whatsoever. He was forced to be cautious.

Plus, there was something deep in his soul that told him not to drop his guard.

He didn't quite understand what it was, but there was no harm in following its will.

Cautiousness allowed him to take risks while being assured of his success. As long as it didn't hinder him, it was a great asset to have.

Especially for a person like him who had a habit of making powerful enemies.

That was why he could look at the twenty Earth Sages before him as obstacles without fear.

He knew how to get through them. He prepared thoroughly before making his entrance, as seen by the several moves he'd made thus far.

His plans were simple, sure, but as someone who didn't really plan before, he was doing a good job learning how to use his intelligence to his own benefit.

Since the moves he made worked, he just needed to continue trusting himself and go forward with the things he'd thought out beforehand.

There was a huge difference between normal Core Formation Realm cultivators and Earth Sages.

That difference was defined by Daos.

The Earth Sage Realm was where the average cultivator took their first steps in understanding their affinities and coming in touch with the Great Daos of the world.

Of course, there were several special cases in which people could use elements before reaching this level. If it was rare, Atlas wouldn't have been able to get away with a lot of things he did.

However, even if those special cases were somewhat common, they didn't change anything.

Even those special cases needed to reach the Earth Sage Realm for their talent to truly bloom.

The changes made to one's dantian at the Earth Sage Realm were far too significant. Not only was the boost in size and spiritual energy intake enormous, but one's entire body would morph subtly in ways that a normal person couldn't even begin to imagine.

The change was more ethereal. It was hard to describe unless one had experienced it personally before, but Atlas happened to be one of those people who had.

He used his own experience as a benchmark to judge the Earth Sages he saw, and frankly…

'...they are several levels better.'

He had to admit it.

Times had changed since the era when he lived. Cultivation had improved by leaps and bounds as it was developed by generation after generation, and some new concepts arose to replace old ones.

The current Earth Sages far outstripped Atlas' past self, but that didn't necessarily mean they were undefeatable.

As long as they were Earth Sages, they had a weakness.

It wasn't something they could avoid.

Knowing that, Atlas jumped down from his perch in the trees with confidence.

His stride didn't break even as he fell. The second his feet touched the ground, he was already pushing forward towards the ravine in the distance.

The Celestial Ladder didn't have a physical form until someone entered it. Atlas couldn't see it, but he could definitely sense the majestic aura it emanated.

'I am in the right place.'

It was like a final bit of affirmation.

Atlas dashed at his greatest speed. With flames at his feet and the winds around him barely slowing him down, he rushed to his goal.

It didn't take long for the nearest of the Earth Sages to notice him.

"Intruder!"

"Grab him!"

They yelled, not in surprise, but to notify those who had left their posts earlier.

From the left side, a large man stomped his foot into the ground, causing a line of earth spikes to cut towards Atlas.

Luckily, the attack was one-directional. As Atlas deftly drifted around the spikes and continued, the enemy cultivator was forced to aim once again before he fired.

As for his partner, she used water as her power.

Since she was just an Earth Sage, she didn't have much control over her Dao. She couldn't directly attack with it, but seeing how Atlas was using speed to his advantage, she used her water to wet the ground and force him into a disadvantageous position.

It wasn't hard for Atlas to avoid these two.

They weren't as experienced as they needed to be if they wanted to deal with him. He didn't even have to use his trump card to get past them.

However, their calls alerted their companions in the vicinity, and more than that, they drew back those who had been distracted before.

Atlas was short on time. He didn't expect to have much in the first place, but it wasn't fun watching the seconds tick down regardless.

There were still eighteen in front of him that he had to get by.

The Eyes of One were completely activated. [Intrinsic Foresight] slowed everything down, giving Atlas a wider view of his current situation.

'Left, up, and then left again. Right, left, back right, up, and then straight…'

Atlas' body was like a speeding bull. He accurately judged the paths of least resistance that he had to take and executed each movement necessary to escape with utmost precision.

He made it past Earth Sage after Earth Sage without having to fight. He avoided several elemental abilities, weaving through anything that was thrown at him.

It was hard. Atlas was using the entirety of his mental strength to focus, and his body was being pushed to its limits to keep up with his mind.

It burned, but the burn was good.

Because it came from within him, not as a result of those attacking him.

Atlas put everything else out of mind and focused on running and dodging.

The number of enemies in his way kept getting smaller, but the number of those who were chasing him and constantly sending out wave after wave of ranged attacks only got bigger.

Still, with the distance he needed to cover shrinking, Atlas didn't pay them more attention than he had to.

As long as they didn't catch him, it was fine how many of them there were, whether it be 1 or 100.

The ground was a blur.

The atmosphere was filled with such a cacophony of sound that it became blaring.

Each heartbeat in Atlas' chest was felt clearly by him.

He couldn't count the distance he covered. If he did, he would lose focus.

He could only keep running and running until the distance became nothing at all.

He was almost there.

There were only two people left in his way.

Somehow, by some miracle, he'd made it this far without having to raise a hand.

It really was a miracle.

Behind him was a swarm of real Earth Sages,

Despite how unskilled they were at manipulating and controlling their abilities, the sheer firepower they had was spectacular,

Atlas' body was somewhat trained, but he'd reached nowhere near the level of body cultivation he needed to match up against them.

But he still made it here. Purely by relying on skill and instinct, he left a majority of his enemies in the dust.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem like he'd be able to pull it off again.

As he came closer and closer, he got a better look at the auras of the last two enemy cultivators.

'Ah, that is a problem.'

They weren't any ordinary Earth Sages. No, they were people who had reached the peak of their realm.

On the 11th floor, they could be considered two of the absolute strongest.

And here they were.

Standing patiently in wait for his approach.